Anyone kind of frustrated with the lack of knowledge of laying hens among most vets?

[bayareapilot]

I live in San Francisco. Anyone get more than a little frustrated with the lack of knowledge/training of vets in regards to laying hens?

I'm starting to think the only way to get a great 'hen vet' is to move near a farm area.

Spent almost $400 with a local vet that specialized in birds (but not specifically laying chickens), just yesterday to get no useful answer or approach that would help my hen. So, I pick up the phone and call my uncle who has a 'hobby farm' in Indiana and has been raising hens and other critters (not as food, just for fun) and that fella, who only has a high school diploma gave me the information to help my hen and now she prancing around the backyard, back to normal. Just makes ya almost not wanting to go to the vet in the first place. I think I need to check with some of the local feed stores outside the city that sell chicks and hens and ask them who THEY go to for assistance?

Just venting - no thanks to the vet,,,, BUT to my just high school educated uncle who gave me tips whic made my hen all better; something the vet couldn't do for the $400 bucks they got from me. Bejezzus!

 

[Fred's Hens]

Quite honestly, we have never used vets for the birds in over 5 decades in keeping them. A chicken, even a super valuable chicken, is only worth X amount of dollars. (fill in the amount you wish, but it is still less than a nice dinner at a better restaurant with drink, tax and tip)

Sounds cold hearted, perhaps, but from this old farmer's perspective, avian vets may have their purpose, but taking $400 off someone for a $X value chicken is well..... um..... ah....... OK, I've no words. The good breeder of show poultry likely knows far more than a general vet ever does about the birds.

 

[realsis]

It also frustrates me! Just had one with wry neck and would have loved to have been able to take her to the vet to help but when I called the vet she never heard of wry neck. I decided to treat her at home and thank God she is better now but I got another now who came down with the same thing. Silkies which are prone to wry neck. It does upset me that I don't have a vet to count on in times of need! Guess we must study so we can just do it ourselves.

 

[Eggcessive]

My daughter is a veterinarian in Montana, and I know more than she does about chickens. I had gotten into chickens perhaps 3 years ago, and when she comes to visit, she has told me how little they learn about chickens in vet school--and she went to school in a fairly big agricultural state. The reason, as Fred said is money. Vets don't make much doctoring chickens because people don't want to spend money on a $2 chicken. My own local vet knows very little about them, and he has owned chickens for 5 years. He admitted to me that he has had to learn some things about them recently to take care of them. I have learned more just by reading BYC--of course, you have to filter out some of the bad or wrong advice. It is really great when old timer chicken people, breeders, show people, and farmers can share their knowledge and what has worked for them on this forum.

 

[theGrizzFan]

The simple answer is that taking chickens to a vet will almost always be viewed as cost prohibitive. They are viewed as a farm animal and not a pet by most people so the general perception is that people are not attached to them like a dog or cat. Most vets probably know more about hamsters than chickens, because they see more of them in their office. Chickens are something cheaply replaced in many minds.
I was very lucky when my wife and I took a couple of our Dominiques to a local vet this Tuesday. We did it because we wanted to know what exactly was wrong with them as there was a fear that the whole flock could be effected, and if it was hereditary the hatchery should be informed so others didn't have the problems that we suffered in the future. The vet found that our 5 month old Dominiques have cataracts and believed it could be a genetic problem (which sadly, the hatchery didn't care about). The vet was interested in seeing our birds, was amazed that it was in fact cataracts, and did not charge us. Like I said, we were lucky (with regard to the veterinarian).

Best of luck to you.

 

[salt and pepper]

Not really, I haven't, and never will take my chickens to a vet, even though some are valuable, they are livestock, and most are easily replaceable. That, and most serious diseases are so hard to heal, it would be best just cull a sick bird, especially if it's a contagious disease. I do think that it would be profitable if more vets did know about poultry, because there will always be people who will take their " backyard chickens " to vets. IMO

 

[bayareapilot]

Quite honestly, we have never used vets for the birds in over 5 decades in keeping them. A chicken, even a super valuable chicken, is only worth X amount of dollars. (fill in the amount you wish, but it is still less than a nice dinner at a better restaurant with drink, tax and tip)

Sounds cold hearted, perhaps, but from this old farmer's perspective, avian vets may have their purpose, but taking $400 off someone for a $X value chicken is well..... um..... ah....... OK, I've no words. The good breeder of show poultry likely knows far more than a general vet ever does about the birds.

I know what your saying but I'd counter it with this; what if a given child of yours only cost X amount in hospital costs when it was born? Would you then decide that if that child had costs that would exceed the cost of having the child come into the world in the first place; that you wouldn't pay up and beyond that amount should that child of yours require additional $$ for health care? Of course not! As humans we practice a selective game of what lives we value - which mainly involve just our own species; all other species are viewed as 'disposable creatures'. Why? Because humans made up the rules.

 

[bayareapilot]

Not really, I haven't, and never will take my chickens to a vet, even though some are valuable, they are livestock, and most are easily replaceable. That, and most serious diseases are so hard to heal, it would be best just cull a sick bird, especially if it's a contagious disease. I do think that it would be profitable if more vets did know about poultry, because there will always be people who will take their " backyard chickens " to vets. IMO

I get what you are saying, but the 'value' you attach or don't attach to things is truly an arbitrary construct; if I had mentioned a dog or cat, the response would likely have been much different. Does one creature intrinsically possess more value than another creature? In my estimation, each creature deserves to live to the full measure of its existence - although clearly we do have creatures that are viewed as disposable.

 

[salt and pepper]

I know what your saying but I'd counter it with this; what if a given child of yours only cost X amount in hospital costs when it was born? Would you then decide that if that child had costs that would exceed the cost of having the child come into the world in the first place; that you wouldn't pay up and beyond that amount should that child of yours require additional $$ for health care? Of course not! As humans we practice a selective game of what lives we value - which mainly involve just our own species; all other species are viewed as 'disposable creatures'. Why? Because humans made up the rules.

I find it amazing that you can compare a CHICKEN to a CHILD. My child is a part of me, loves me, is intelligent, and has a soul. A chicken does not show affection except for the food you bring it, is not intelligent, and will actually KILL one of it's flock members if the member is sick! An elephant does not mourn the death of the lion it killed, but will die of a broken heart if it's calf dies. A chicken is a livestock animal, that I will NEVER love as much as my own child ( or my dog for that matter ) Also, if you didn't treat the chicken, it still would have lived to the full value of it's life, because in the wild, that would be the end of it's life.

 

[CedarAcres]

If you can find an avian vet that owns chickens, then you're golden! Our vet is well known for treating chickens and she has a flock of her own. She also treats lots of exotic animals (& owns those herself too) so we've used her for them as well. Everyone has their own idea of whether it's worth it to bring chickens to the vet or not. I have the money to pay for the appointment so I have brought mine in. It also helps if you have a vet that genuinely cares about the animals rather than nickle & diming you to death. My vet often times does not charge me for certain things here & there because she's glad I'm treating my animals. I rescued a cat who was sick, she gave me the medicine for free and said thank you for adopting an animal.

I know how valuable it is to have an experienced vet though. People drive from more than an hour away to bring exotic animals to our vet's office. And at my last visit, there were three chickens in the waiting room. And the last time I had a pretty sick chicken, it cost me $50 for the appointment including a full checkup, a few shots in the office, a fecal test, and two Rx only medicines with enough to treat two birds if needed. Now that chicken only cost me maybe $3 when I bought her as a chick. But she gives me enjoyment. That same $50 = a dinner at a restaurant, and honestly, the chicken gives me more enjoyment. So to me it was worth it.